Whatever Happened To R&B

I guess everyone's first reaction to that question would be, nothing. Personally, I beg to differ. I wrote about this topic before and felt I needed to revisit it. Sure, there are many new artists who release music under the banner of R&B, but if you give a listen, much of that music will usually belong in a genre or maybe a sub-genre all it's own.

Rap and Hip Hop artist actually prefer the name Rap or Hip Hop to describe what they do. So, why is it that when you search for R&B that you keep coming up with Neo Soul, Rap, Hip Hop, and even Nu Jazz? Who can say, right?

I figure that what's been going on for at least the past 20 years or so, is a redefining of the R&B genre, in an effort to put and then keep Rap and Hip Hop at the for front of popular music. I say this because it is my contention that the need of Rap and Hip Hop to constantly present new faces, bares a need for that style of music to stretch from it's boundaries on occasion, in order to maintain it's lofty profile.

Not to mention the fact that some artists who sing, and like the beats and rhymes, may want to incorporate that into what they're doing. This has given rise to a change in what is considered as R&B. Known for it's uptempo grooves and earthy singing styles, R&B is now more a ballad genre.

In the early 1990s,The vocal group Boys II Men became the prototype for what an R&B band should be. At first some of their music featured what was known as New Jack Swing, which was uptempo music with a Rap style groove, and singing with possibly a Rap in the middle eight instead of an instrument solo. But, that quickly changed as they became known for their vocal prowess on songs such as Hard To Say Goodbye and End Of The Road. In fact, it's my opinion that, that same success was the inspiration for the Boy Band/Girl Band phenomenon.

Toward the end of the 90s, the tempo began to slow and a jazzy feel soon appeared. Vocals were being sung to what I like to think of as quasi melodies. The result was a combination of Hip Hop and 70s instrumentation. The style has been successful for artist like Anthony Hamilton, DeAngelo, Ericka Badyu, and Jaheim. While they are all very talented artists, what they are doing should be thought of more as Neo Soul rather than as true R&B.

What is true R&B? I could name a few artists whose names would be instantly familiar. But, so many people are capable of doing the music, even as I write this. I think that giving a list of past artists who were successful would only be giving weight to nostalgia. If that is true, then maybe R&B is an old sound that needs to be left behind. But, I know that isn't true or the artists whose names I mentioned above wouldn't be using so much of the sound within their own music.

What I think has actually been going on is an attempt to get R&B lovers to listen to and maybe embrace Rap and Hip Hop. For, after thirty years of being on the scene and then being prominent within the market place, older music listening and buying audiences, especially older Black audiences still refuse to accept or embrace the sound. To many older Black audiences, even Neo Soul may be viewed as a commercial half step. But, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. But, the truth may remain and may always be, that ain't nothing like the real thing.